A Farewell to Arms is a true master craft in the art of writing by one of the best American authors of all time, Ernest Hemingway. Set on the Italian front in their fight against the Austrians, you feel as if you have a front row seat to the destruction, brutality, and chaos that was World War 1, similar to if you were watching it on the big screen at a theater, but with the added depth to the characters you can only get from a book.

The wordsmithing Hemingway uses really brings the Italian landscape to life. From the beauty of the Italian countryside with its rolling hills, fertile vineyards, and flowing rivers, to the bigger towns and cities with their tiled roofs and narrow streets. You get a tour of this beautiful country all from the comfort of your couch. 

But intertwined with all of the beauty within the book is a story about the effect that warfare has on a human being, and how different people can look at the same conflict in varying ways. Whether it’s the stoic main character Frederic Henry, the kind and understanding priest, or even the young Moretti who uses the war as a chance to find honor and glory for himself. The different opinions each character has when it comes to the war and how those opinions change is the aspect of this book that made it so hard to put down.

But perhaps the most striking aspect of the book are the scenes from the front lines of one of the most brutal wars in history, “One leg was gone and the other was held by tendons and part of the trouser and the stump twitched and jerked as though it were not connected,” (p47) which, as you might be able to tell, Hemingway spares no detail when writing. Being a veteran of The Great War himself, Hemingway knows exactly how to make you feel the suspense and chaos that went along with it. 

Between the stunning scenery of Italy to the conflicts and effects of The Great War to a budding romance found in the darkness of the war, this book truly has something for everyone and I can’t recommend it enough.